The Drongo Family. 27 



in the room, she would rush with frantic haste to 

 the lowest bar of the nearest chair ; and, while 

 crying piteously for mealworms, numbers crawling 

 a few inches below her would not entice her 

 down. She is a bird of the air, with an extraordinary 

 horror of the ground. Now that she is full-feathered 

 she is a different bird. 



" When in the large garden aviary during the 

 summer, Puck is very keen after flies, taking them 

 cleverly on the wing. She is an excellent catch, 

 rarely losing a mealworm if there be plenty of flying 

 room, no matter how hard it may be thrown at her. 

 And food taken on the wing she swallows com- 

 fortably; whereas what is taken from a dish is 

 fumbled over, and often dropped. She is fond of 

 most dry insects, such as flies, mealworms, &c., and 

 small cockroaches in moderation. She cannot manage 

 raw, but is fond of cof>ked, meat. She is also fond 

 of dainties from the table grapes and lettuce, often 

 eating a great deal of the latter. She drinks fre- 

 quently, and washes in the drinking-water, but has 

 never been seen to take a regular bath. 



" Puck is a capital mimic. Her favourite notes are a 

 selection from the song of the shamah ; but she is 

 equally conversant with the hoarse scream of the 

 offended jackdaw and the dulcet strains of the 

 neighbours' cats, with the gurgling bubbling of the 

 blue-cheeked barbet, and the plaintive whistle of the 

 blue robin. When whistling to herself she is specially 

 pretty, reminding one of the jolly plough-boy returning 

 home on a summer's evening. 'God Save the Queen* 

 she whistles sometimes quite correctly, but oftener 



